135,826 research outputs found
A viewpoint-based case-based reasoning approach utilising an enterprise architecture ontology for experience management
The accessibility of project knowledge obtained from experiences is an
important and crucial issue in enterprises. This information need about
project knowledge can be different from one person to another depending
on the different roles he or she has. Therefore, a new ontology-based
case-based reasoning (OBCBR) approach that utilises an enterprise ontology
is introduced in this article to improve the accessibility of this project
knowledge. Utilising an enterprise ontology improves the case-based
reasoning (CBR) system through the systematic inclusion of enterprisespecific
knowledge. This enterprise-specific knowledge is captured using
the overall structure given by the enterprise ontology named ArchiMEO,
which is a partial ontological realisation of the enterprise architecture
framework (EAF) ArchiMate. This ontological representation, containing
historical cases and specific enterprise domain knowledge, is applied in a
new OBCBR approach. To support the different information needs of
different stakeholders, this OBCBR approach has been built in such a way
that different views, viewpoints, concerns and stakeholders can be considered.
This is realised using a case viewpoint model derived from the
ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010 standard. The introduced approach was implemented
as a demonstrator and evaluated using an application case that has been
elicited from a business partner in the Swiss research project.This work was supported in part by the Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) of the Swiss Confederation under Grant 14575.1 PFES-ES and the ELO Digital Office CH AG.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/teis202018-04-30hb2017Information Scienc
E-learning accessibility practices within higher education: a review
The 2001 Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA) made it an offence for educational institutions to discriminate against a disabled person by treating him or her less favourably than others for a reason relating to their disability. The Act covers all aspects of student services, including provision and use of electronic materials and resources. Learning technologists have therefore been charged with the responsibility of ensuring that electronic teaching materials can be accessed by disabled students. In an attempt to explore how learning technologists are developing practices to produce accessible electronic materials this paper will present a review of current accessibility practice. The review will focus on what key professionals (academics, researchers, educational developers and staff developers) within the learning technology field are saying and doing about making electronic materials and resources accessible to disabled students. Key issues that may influence the "accessibility" practices of learning technologists are highlighted; the importance of these issues for developing an understanding of "accessibility" practices is discussed and implications for future research are identifie
Recommended from our members
Benchmarking performance management systems
The Balanced Scorecard and associated performance management approaches, has become a widely practiced and popular management reporting method in recent times. Moreover, enabling technology, which assists in the delivery and personalisation of corporate performance information, is having a deeper and more rapid impact than ever before. This paper presents a brief comparative benchmarking study of leading enterprise performance management systems. Also, the author discusses the merits of bespoke internet technology development and out-of-the-box portal functionalities. An analysis of key business drivers and implementation risks of such approaches is highlighted via a case study example, and concludes the paper
ADBâOECD Study on Enhancing Financial Accessibility for SMEs: Lessons from Recent Crises
During the era of global financial uncertainty, stable access to appropriate funding sources has been much harder for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The global financial crisis impacted SMEs and entrepreneurs disproportionately, exacerbating their traditional financing constraints. The financial conditions of many SMEs were weakened by the drop in demand for goods and services and the credit tightening. The sovereign debt crisis that hit several European countries contributed to further deterioration in bank lending activities, which negatively affected private sector development.
The global regulatory response to financial crises, such as the Basel Capital Accord, while designed to reduce systemic risks may also constrain bank lending to SMEs. In particular, Basel III requires banks to have tighter risk management as well as greater capital and liquidity. Resulting asset preference and deleveraging of banks, particularly European banks with significant presence in Asia, could limit the availability of funding for SMEs in Asia and the Pacific. Lessons from the recent financial crises have motivated many countries to consider SME access to finance beyond conventional bank credit and to diversify their national financial system.
Improving SME access to finance is a policy priority at the country and global level. Poor access to finance is a critical inhibiting factor to the survival and growth potential of SMEs. Financial inclusion is thus key to the development of the SME sector, which is a driver of job creation and social cohesion and takes a pivotal role in scaling up national economies.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have recognized that it is crucial to develop a comprehensive range of policy options on SME finance, including innovative financing models. With this in mind, sharing Asian and OECD experiences on SME financing would result in insightful discussions on improving SME access to finance at a time of global financial uncertainty. Based on intensive discussions in two workshops organized by ADB in Manila on 6â7 March 2013 and by OECD in Paris on 21 October 2013, the two organizations together compiled this study report on enhancing financial accessibility for SMEs, especially focusing on lessons from the past and recent crises in Asia and OECD countries.
The report takes a comparative look at ADB and OECD experiences, and aims to identify promising policy solutions for creating an SME base that is resilient to crisis, from a viewpoint of access to finance, and which can help drive growth and development
Does Managerial Training have any impact on the performance of MSE Managers? Empirical evidence from Ghana
Received the best full paper award in the performance management trackAdopting the human capital theory as a lens, this study investigates the impact of managerial
training on the performance of the managers of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Ghana.
The study uses primary data collected from 506 MSEs who are clients of Financial Non-
Governmental Organisations (FNGOs) in the Volta Region of Ghana. Managerial Training
(MT) and Performance has been measured on a five-point Likert scale anchored by strongly
disagree (1) and strongly agree (5). MT has been measured using 4 main constructs namely,
training content, training efficiency, training frequency and training accessibility whilst
performance was measured using 12 items. The study controlled for business age, industry
category, managerâs educational level and gender.
The study shows that managerial training content, efficiency, frequency, and accessibility are
statistically significant in explaining performance among MSE managers in Ghana. Secondly,
the study also shows that industry category, managers educational level, and business age
influences the performance of managers. However, gender is statistically insignificant and does
not have any impact on the performance of MSE managers in Ghana. The study, therefore,
argues for the delivery of managerial training which is content-rich, efficient, frequent and
accessible to MSE managers to develop their managerial capabilities (Fatoki, 2011; Newman
et al., 2014)
Literate modelling: capturing business knowledge with the UML
At British Airways, we have found during several large OO projects documented using the UML that non-technical end-users, managers and business domain experts find it difficult to understand UML visual models. This leads to problems in requirement capture and review. To solve this problem, we have developed the technique of Literate Modelling. Literate Models are UML diagrams that are embedded in texts explaining the models. In that way end-users, managers and domain experts gain useful understanding of the models, whilst object-oriented analysts see exactly and precisely how the models define business requirements and imperatives. We discuss some early experiences with Literate Modelling at British Airways where it was used extensively in their Enterprise Object Modelling initiative.We explain why Literate Modelling is viewed as one of the critical success factors for this significant project. Finally, we propose that Literate Modelling may be a valuable extension to many other object-oriented and non object-oriented visual modelling languages
Determination and evaluation of web accessibility
The Web is the most pervasive collaborative
technology in widespread use today; however,
access to the web and its many applications cannot
be taken for granted. Web accessibility encompasses
a variety of concerns ranging from societal,
political, and economic to individual, physical, and
intellectual through to the purely technical. Thus,
there are many perspectives from which web
accessibility can be understood and evaluated. In
order to discuss these concerns and to gain a better
understanding of web accessibility, an accessibility
framework is proposed using as its base a layered
evaluation framework from Computer Supported
Co-operative Work research and the ISO standard,
ISO/IEC 9126 on software quality. The former is
employed in recognition of the collaborative nature
of the web and its importance in facilitating
communication. The latter is employed to refine and
extend the technical issues and to highlight the need
for considering accessibility from the viewpoint of
the web developer and maintainer as well as the web
user. A technically inaccessible web is unlikely to be
evolved over time. A final goal of the accessibility
framework is to provide web developers and
maintainers with a practical basis for considering
web accessibility through the development of a set of
accessibility factors associated with each identified
layer
Food Access in Petersburg, Virginia: Final Report and Recommendations
The City of Petersburg has long suffered with issues of limited access to food and food insecurity. Food deserts, or areas underserved by retail food options, are prevalent throughout the City. As a result, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has ranked the city last of Virginia\u27s 133 counties in their annual health rankings.
For the Fall 2019 semester, students from Virginia Commonwealth University\u27s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, through Dr. John Accordino\u27s Urban Commercial Revitalization course, focused on planning solutions to address food deserts in commercial areas, with the City of Petersburg being one of their clients. The class assessed the potential for commercial revitalization and made five recommendations
- âŠ